“Ethan, you’re here to go back to a place that I’m not willing to go to.”
“Don’t make this something it’s not,” he said, stepping into her space. “We’re good together. That hasn’t changed. We can still be that.”
“You mean friends with benefits?” she asked, keeping her tone steady, even though she felt as though she’d been tossed to the ocean waves without a life jacket.
His eyebrows fell together. “If that’s what you want to call it.”
She didn’t know what she wanted to call this thing between them. There wasn’t a word for it, really.
“Ethan!” A guy came up behind them and smacked Ethan on the back. “I have been looking all over for you.”
Ethan stared too long at Em.
“You’ve got about a three-minute window if you come with me now,” the guy said, tilting his head back toward the arch. “Use it or lose it.”
Ethan didn’t move.
“Go on ahead,” Em said, the words a tad too mechanical. “I’ll find our seats.”
“Hold tight,” he said, reaching for her hands and squeezing. “I’ll be done quick.”
This was the point, actually. Wasn’t it?
They were going in different directions.
She laughed a wry laugh because, yeah, nothing good happened at a wedding.
Chapter Twenty-Six
ETHAN
He shouldn’t have left.Not with Em all out of whack. Worst of it was, he didn’t even get to talk to the bloke. He’d come back just in time for the ceremony to start and she’d been quiet ever since. Too quiet.
He wanted to fix things with her. Apologize for walking away so abruptly when she needed him.
They couldn’t justnottalk about it. Could they? Then things would fester, and things shouldn’t fester. You dealt with crap before it went totally sideways. That way you didn’t burn it. You merely adjusted and tweaked the recipe a little.
He did want to understand why she wasn’t seeing the bright side of the whole shebang, but he didn’t get it. So they should talk.
He should start the convo.
Damn, but this was why food was so much less complicated than emotions.
The ceremony finished, he and Emmaline joined the queue for the buffet along one side of the room. Honestly, he hadn’t expected a buffet. But it was the new trendy thing to do among those with extra cash.
This reception space had a rustic chic look most restaurant designers would’ve been stoked about. Dead-set trendy. Then there were tables set for the hundred or so guests. And along the other side of the room was a huge back-lit wall of Wild West snaps.
Of course, Ethan hadn’t cooked the grub for the party, but given those involved with the shindig the chicken would not be dry and the prime rib carving station would be a fave. The roasted veggies would also be far superior to the usual steamed version at catered events like this, too. But now he wasn’t even hungry.
Emmaline stood beside him. She’d clenched her jaw a fair bit since the ceremony. Wringing her hands. Pursing her lips. Generally, not looking his direction.
Ethan had stuffed it up. Clarity was a pain in the ass that way.
But he’d gotten antsy. He’d wanted this for himself. Reckoned it was a good thing for everyone. With a good career he could be a good provider and a good provider made a good boyfriend, didn’t it?
The last thing he wanted was to hurt Em. He’d made promises to her dad and brothers that he wouldn’t do that. But he didn’t use his head and now she was hurting.
She turned, must’ve put on a brave face, because she laughed at something the lady in front of her said. All surface bulldust, for sure. Something had dimmed, and he hated he was responsible.
